Are We Really Going To Run This Race?

ENLARGE

Putting on a marathon now doesn't seem like the best idea.
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By

Jason Gay

Updated Nov. 1, 2012 10:48 p.m. ET

They are taking a risk and pushing a big shoe forward, putting more on the line this weekend than just tens of thousands of runners. The New York City Marathon will go on as scheduled Sunday, according to Mayor
Michael Bloomberg
,
and the decision has provoked a fury in a storm-battered city.

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Let me be clear: I love the New York City Marathon. I have run it twice, crossing the finish line with times so slow you will assume I raced with a refrigerator, a baby hippo and a 1987 Cutlass Ciera strapped to my back. But I smiled the whole way through. OK, that's a lie. I did not smile the whole way through. Like many, I suffered those final miles into Central Park, and I nearly curled into the fetal position during a low moment as Brooklyn crossed into Queens.

But I completely get what makes the NYC marathon a magical event; why people travel from around the world to race it; why it attracts the sport's elite; why you will live your whole life and never forget the feeling of stepping off of the 59th Street Bridge and taking that turn onto a roaring First Avenue. It's an exhilarating event, both for participants and spectators, one of those rare days that draws five boroughs together, and reminds the world there is no place exactly like New York.

Still, it is difficult to look out at this city right now and see how 26.2 miles Sunday makes a tremendous amount of sense. New York remains a mess. The city is slowly mending, but downtown is stuck in darkness, and too much public transit remains shut. There is true devastation in some New York neighborhoods, and the nearby New Jersey coastline is a shocking disaster. Every day seems to bring a new heartache: On Thursday, the bodies of two missing boys, lost in the storm, were found in a Staten Island marsh. Though downtown power and subway service are expected to come back within days, a recovery feels weeks away, if not much longer. Con Edison announced Thursday that most customers can expect their power back by the weekend of Nov. 10. That's not this weekend. That's the next one.

Bloomberg has been blasted for charging ahead with the marathon, a stubborn choice in an otherwise-praised performance in leading the city through a storm. The mayor's defiant impulse is New York to its core: a headstrong case of Show Must Go On, with a dutiful reminder that the race pumps many millions into the city economy. The New York Road Runners Club, while leaving the ultimate decision to the mayor, has bestowed a new motivation upon the race, making it a tribute to the storm's victims, and creating a charity fund to raise money for post-storm relief efforts.

All of these things may be true. And New York is indeed a city that has shown staggering resilience. But standing here Thursday afternoon, hosting this marathon just days from now feels like an unnecessarily stressful move, beset by very legitimate questions. Is this race really in the best interest of a damaged city? This is not a playoff game at Yankee Stadium—it's a sprawling, cross-city undertaking. How many resources will be diverted? Is the city really ready to bring thousands of runners and spectators into Central Park—a place where you can't even walk a dog at the moment? Mayor Bloomberg has been vigilant that the race will not "redirect any focus"—but after the unprecedented week this city has experienced, can any claim about preparation be made with such certitude?

"If we take one police officer, one ambulance or one fire-department staffer to put them on the marathon rather than doing the emergency-response work they are doing, it is not just an outrage—it is an abuse of their responsibilities," State Senator Liz Krueger said on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program Thursday.

Runners who have trained hard are caught in the middle, plagued with questions both logistic (how do I get there?) and philosophical (should I run?). Longtime NYC running coach Jonathan Cane (who once coached me in cycling—don't blame him for my slow marathons), posted a thoughtful essay on his "City Coach" blog Thursday, saying that he disagreed with the city's decision to hold the race.

"As seriously as I take racing," Cane wrote, "even I realize that there are more important things."

Cane, who has about 200 clients running, said he'd received emails from runners asking if it was disrespectful to race this marathon, and his answer has been an "unequivocal" no—they should do it, he has advised. And it's possible to see how the current skepticism could be transformed on Sunday, as a successful marathon becomes a symbol for a city's fast recovery. But it doesn't look that way right now. A great race has been made to feel like an awkward run from reality.

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